Well, this hospital experience was by far the best of all three kids. We delivered at Desert Regional (our first time there) and it was great. I loved my doctor, the nurses were good and we got our own room. Shad, Elle and I slept over two nights, with Elle in our room the whole time. Shad took care of her all night, with her little crib right by his bed, while I tried to rest. He was a amazing. Of course hospitals still totally suck....checking your vitals every single hour, checking the baby's vitals (at different times than mine, so we could be woken up twice per hour), giving shots, taking blood, etc, but it was still
much quieter than JFK was with Tanner and Kate. The other thing I loved about this hospital was that I got to be with the baby as soon as possible. I mean they still had to stitch me up and all that, but I didn't get to be with Tanner and Kate for HOURS after delivery. This time, they brought her in to me as SOON as I was done being stitched/stapled and cleaned up. I got to nurse her within an hour of delivering and she latched right on (so different from being brought the baby hours later, when they are too tired to nurse and won't latch on very well). This doctor actually gave me pain killers after the surgery and to take home with me for the first 5 days. When I had a cesarean with Kate, the doctor didn't give me ANYthing and told me to take IB Profen. I remember I couldn't sleep for weeks because I was in so much pain and it took so long to heal. This time I feel like I'm healing soooo much faster because on pain killers I could actually fall asleep and get more rest. I don't know what else my doctor did different, but it worked. I feel about 3 weeks ahead of where I felt after having Kate's cesarean, and I haven't taken pain killers in 4 days.
My Mom has been AMAZING. She does everything plus more. Literally. She takes care of Tanner and Kate all day, playing endless hours of Chutes and Ladders and Fish. Makes Tanner his fresh whole wheat scones everyday, and me fresh whole wheat bread.She makes me healthy meals and snacks, lets me nap whenever I want, cleans the house, AND takes care of baby Elle all night so I can rest. She brings Elle to me whenever she needs to nurse and then takes her back to her room to sleep with her. I am so grateful for her. She is the most amazing Mother and such a great example to me. I'm so lucky to have her.
Elle is beautiful. She looks like a mix of Tanner and Kate. She has a sweet disposition about her and rarely, if ever, cries. The kids are in love with her, but especially Tanner. I would say he is more obsessed. Elle is his favorite person in the world. Poor Kate is totally insecure and cries all the time. She loves Elle, but she is still so insecure.
And about her name....we called her Madeline in the hospital for the first couple of days, but it felt uncomfortable and ALL the staff kept saying Maddie. I realized soon that she would be a Maddie and not a Madeline. So we decided on Elle and we love it.
The first four pictures are within minutes of delivering Elle. The first one has Shad on the right side cutting her cord and the 4th pic is right after I got to see Elle for the first time. The others are when the kids came to the hospital to meet Elle.
